formation of a Stand-by force envisaged for 2010 as a precursor to the proposed Africa Standby force.
ocratization trajectory. Scholarly scrutiny has further contributed to legitimize the process and reinforce the widespread belief that democracy is the natural end point of a ‘normal’ course of political development.[1]
takeover a coup, and the African Union and the Southern African Development Community suspended Madagascar's membership.
a solution to the political tensions. The Council further affirmed its support for the efforts of the United Nations in the process, including an election consultation team which was sent last week.
Discussion Questions:An African Union Special Summit held on 22 and 23 October 2009, in Entebbe, Uganda, adopted the ‘African Union Convention on the Protection and Assistance of Internally Displaced Persons in Africa’, also known as the ‘Kampala Convention’. It is the first legally binding international instrument on IDPs with a continental scope, which commits African States to prevent displacement and protect and assist internally displaced persons.
A UNHCR statement issued in advance of the summit pointed to the global shift in recen
t years away from a focus on refugees, and to the more complex issue of people displaced within their own country. Where refugee populations have declined in recent years, internal displacement continues to rise and the number of people uprooted from their homes is mounting. Experts say the displacement is aggravating social upheavals, wars and food shortages in many parts of the continent.
Out of Africa’s total 17-million refugees, returnees, and internally displaced persons (IDPs) the continent hosts at least 13 million of the world's estimated 25 million IDPs who vastly outnumber refugees. According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), Sudan (4 million), the Democratic Republic of Congo (2.12 million) and Somalia (1.55 million) head the list of IDPs.
The causes of displacement vary, according to the AU, but are largely homegrown and exacerbated by extreme poverty, underdevelopment and lack of opportunities as well as natural disasters. According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) and the Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (IDMC) Climate change has also increased the frequency and intensity of natural hazards in Africa. There is no agency with a mandate to protect and assist IDPs - unlike refugees, who fall under the UNHCR. While they make up almost two-thirds of global populations seeking safety from armed conflict and violence, they have fewer rights than refugees.
The Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement restate and compile existing international human rights and humanitarian law and attempt to clarify grey areas and gaps in the various instruments pertinent to IDPs. 17 African Union member states signed the agreement, namely, Burundi, Central African Republic, Republic of Congo, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Equatorial Guinea, Gambia, Liberia, Namibia, Nigeria, (Disputed) Saharawi Arab Democratic Republic, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.
However According to the UNHCR and the AU Commission, African leaders are reluctant to end poor governance, abuse of human rights and conflicts that have displaced millions of people. Poor attendance by politicians at the AU’s spe
cial Summit has cast doubts on the commitment of African leaders to end the refugee and IDPs crisis. No Head of State of any of the countries worst hit by the crises attended the Kampala Summit including Rwanda, Burundi, the DR Congo and Sudan.
Over the years, the AU has developed various initiatives, including deployment of peace support operations, appointment of special envoys and special representatives and mobilizing international support for post-conflict reconstruction. In some cases, regional blocks have intervened to prevent, de-escalate and resolve conflicts - including the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) in Liberia, Sierra Leone and Cote d'Ivoire; the Southern African Development Community (SADC) in southern Africa; and the Inter Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD) in Sudan's north-south conflict. In addition, various instruments exist that offer protection to the displaced, such as the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child.
Specifically focusing on displaced persons, the Kampala declaration agrees to, among other things, enable IDPs find durable solutions by promoting and creating conducive conditions for voluntary return, local integration or settlement elsewhere in the circumstances of safety and dignity and to ensure access to primary, secondary and post-secondary education, and other training for all children, including refugee and internally displaced children as well as access to informal and adult education
Despite a landmark convention having been adopted, critics say implementation will be difficult unless politicians join in. The charter is a legal instrument that spells out a number of obligations that countries should honor. The AU Commission, however, says it will promote the charter through civil society and national parliaments. The establishment of a code to protect IDPs under international law would ensure provision of humanitarian assistance and rule out arbitrary displacement of people. The debate also centered on ending support to armed groups, and to holding them responsible for the refuge
e and IDPs crisis, a provision that several countries objected to.
The African Union (AU) is now in advanced stages of establishing an African Standby Force whose mandate will include assisting people after natural disasters, peacekeeping, protection of the vulnerable, and implementation of peace agreements. The force made up of soldiers from the national armies of AU member countries will consist of 25,000 soldiers and will be fully operational in June 2010.
The Kampala summit was described by Zambian President Rupiah Banda as “a distinct success”. The signing of the convention brings to an end the process of negotiation that started in 2006. Seventeen countries have signed the convention but for the legally binding document to come into force, it has to be ratified by 15 of the AU's 53 member states.
In spite of the euphoria of its adoption, officials and analysts remain skeptical given the backdrop of a rather unsatisfactory record of ratifications, and implementation of obligations under such instruments, by African States.
Discussion Question:
Would you agree that the Kampala Summit has been a ‘Distinct Success’ despite critics’ apprehensions?
Sources/Related Links:
http://www.achpr.org/english/Press%20Release/KAMPALA%20CONVENTION_IDPs.pdf
http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=86762
http://www.defenceweb.co.za/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=4803&Itemid=366
http://www.voanews.com/english/2009-10-20-voa36.cfm
http://allafrica.com/stories/200910190677.html
http://www.observer.ug/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=5690:editorial-do-african-leaders-care-about-idps-and-refugees&catid=35:editorial&Itemid=61
http://www.theeastafrican.co.ke/news/-/2558/676822/-/qxo0kcz http://www.independent.co.ug/index.php/news/news-analysis/79-news-analysis/2045-african-leaders-tackle-plight-of-their-victims http://www.internal-displacement.org/
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Business and Politics in the Muslim World (BPM)refers to the project entitled, "Globalized Business and Politics: A View from the Muslim World.' The blog development project has been undertaken and jointly developed by the Gilani Research Foundation and BPM as a free resource and social discussion tool.
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omic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), a set of proposals they believe will end the political crisis precipitated by a military takeover last December. In the meanwhile Nigeria's plan to give Niger Delta residents a slice of the national energy company is expected to be a major deterrent to militancy in the oil-producing region.
e former leaders of the rebel Revolutionary United Front (RUF) convicted earlier this year for atrocities committed during Sierra Leone's decade-long civil war.
boycott of Zimbabwe's unity government, saying he would not yield to pressure to make concessions
predecessor. He is credited with being decisive, but also criticized for being dogmatic. Despite Splits within the president's party, a victory was still forecast since the opposition was believed to be equally fractured.
ector, in particular diamonds.
Discussion Questions:
s to another amid accusations that Mr Mugabe's Zanu-PF is unwilling to reform. Also the decision by a Zimbabwe court to send a close aide to Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai to jail has been condemned as politically motivated abuse by the Swedish EU presidency.
its worst-governed region, according to a new ranking of Africa's quality of governance report.
week. On September 28th Opposition parties organized the demonstration amid speculation that Moussa Dadis Camara, the country's military leader, would stand in the forthcoming elections. Camara, who has not yet formally announced his intention to contest the January 31 poll, said that the killings were beyond his control.
s against Camara's candidature were brutally crushed by the military forces and have invited international condemnation and human rights uproar. The loss of discipline by the military that even the premier claims out of his control, perpetuated a violent assault on human rights in Guinea. The violence was censured by France, Guinea’s former colonizers, at the United Nations as well as by the African Union, where sanctions were already in effect by the latter organization.
romised to organize elections but has since signaled he has not ruled out running. The military leader had pledged not to stand for the presidency when he seized power after the death of Lasana Conte, the president, essentially considered a military dictator in civilian guise. Camara has reportedly changed his tune proclaiming it his ‘right’ to contest.
g turn of events in the region follows a history of military dictat
orships where even the latest coup, according to analysts, enjoyed popular support initially. However the rising dissatisfaction amongst the nationals has arisen in what is deemed to be a breach of a tacit agreement between the military and civil forces, which had hence far kept Camara in power.
Discussion Questions:Related Links/Bibliography
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/8280603.stm
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/africa/2009/09/200992981337765437.html
https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/gv.html
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Business and Politics in the Muslim World (BPM)refers to the project entitled, "Globalized Business and Politics: A View from the Muslim World.' The blog development project has been undertaken and jointly developed by the Gilani Research Foundation and BPM as a free resource and social discussion tool.
